William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne | prime minister of Great Britain | Britannica.com William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne prime minister of Great Britain Written By: Alternative Title: William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne of Kilmore, Lord Melbourne, Baron of Kilmore, Baron Melbourne of Melbourne William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne Prime minister of Great Britain Also known as William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne of Kilmore, Lord Melbourne, Baron of Kilmore, Baron Melbourne of Melbourne born Granville George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, (born March 15, 1779, London , Eng.—died Nov. 24, 1848, Brocket, near Hatfield , Hertfordshire ), British prime minister from July 16 to Nov. 14, 1834, and from April 18, 1835, to Aug. 30, 1841. He was also Queen Victoria’s close friend and chief political adviser during the early years of her reign (from June 20, 1837).

Although a Whig and an advocate of political rights for Roman Catholics, he was essentially conservative . Not believing that the world could be bettered through politics, he was always more interested in literature and theology. Melbourne, detail of an oil painting by J. Partridge, 1844; in the National Portrait Gallery, London Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, London Lamb’s mother, Elizabeth (née Milbanke), was a confidante of the poet Lord Byron and an aunt of Byron’s future wife Anne Isabella (“Annabella”) Milbanke. It was widely believed that the 1st Viscount Melbourne was not Lamb’s real father. In June 1805 Lamb married Lady Caroline Ponsonby, the eccentric daughter of Frederic Ponsonby, 3rd earl of Bessborough. The marriage had failed even before Lady Caroline’s affair with Byron in 1812–13, and, after several estrangements and reconciliations, it ended in separation in 1825, three years before her death. Subsequently, Lamb was named as corespondent in two unsuccessful divorce suits, the second, in 1836, involving the poet Caroline Norton .

Victoria (queen of United Kingdom): Accession to the throne Called to the bar in 1804, Lamb entered the House of Commons in 1806. From 1822 he was an avowed supporter of the conservatism of George Canning . From April 1827 to May 1828, in the governments of Canning and Arthur Wellesley, 1st duke of Wellington, he served as chief secretary for Ireland. In 1829 he succeeded to the viscountcy. As home secretary in the 2nd Earl Grey’s ministry (Nov. 16, 1830–July 8, 1834), he reluctantly supported the parliamentary Reform Act of 1832 but forcibly repressed agrarian and industrial radicals, notably the Tolpuddle Martyrs in 1834. Consistent with this, he opposed, while prime minister, the reduction of duties on imported grain. Melbourne’s brief first administration ended with his dismissal by King William IV , who was offended by Whig plans for church reform. But Sir Robert Peel’s Conservatives failed to win a parliamentary majority, and Melbourne took office as prime minister once more.

After Victoria’s accession he also became her private secretary for a time. Their mutual affection led to Victoria’s Whig partisanship. On May 7, 1839, during the crisis over the “bedchamber question” (the queen insisted her attendants be Whig ladies), Melbourne resigned but soon resumed office when Peel could not form a government. Britannica Stories British Prime Ministers through the ages | Pictures | Pics | Daily Express British Prime Ministers through the ages Wed, May 27, 2015 Photo: 1 / 53 With a General Election coming up in May, we look back at some of the famous occupants of Number 10 through the ages Pause slideshow Winston Churchill Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965) was and is a British icon. After a long career in journalism and politics he became Britain's talismanic war leader in 1940, where his stirring rhetoric and leadership would help the nation to overcome the Nazis. Defeated at the 1945 election, he returned to office in 1951.

In 2002 he was named The Greatest Briton of all time by the public in a nation-wide survey [Getty Images] David Cameron was the Prime Minister from May 2010 to July 2016. [Getty Images] Gordon Brown (1951-) served as Chancellor throughout his rival Tony Blair's period as Prime Minister and succeeded him in 2007. Less greagrious than his predesscesor, he struggled with personal image problems, and had to deal with two of the great political crises of the 21st century to date, the MP's expenses scandal, and the 2008 crash [Getty Images] Tony Blair (1953-) returned Labour to power after 18 years in opposition with a historic landslide in 1997.

His government increased the budget of the Health and Education services, introduced a Minimum Wage and passed the Human Rights Act, but controversially led the UK into lengthy wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and introduced various surveillance and counter-terror measures that proved highly unpopular [Getty Images] John Major (1943-) was the surprise successor to Thatcher in 1990, and won an unexpected victory in the 1992 General Election. His government privatised rail, water and gas utilities and oversaw British integration into the new European Union in 1992. Despite a strong economy, a string of government scandals and discontent with the Tories saw Labour win a resounding victory in 1997 [Getty Images] Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013) was the first woman to occupy 10 Downing Street, and a forthright political personality. Her government took on tough battles in the Falklands abroad and against the Trade Unions at home, and by the second half of the 1980's had restored Britain to prosperity and stability.

Some of her policies proved less succesful however, such as expanded police powers and the resented Poll Tax in 1989, and she was betrayed by her own ministers in 1990 and forced to step down [Getty Images] James Callaghan (1912 - 2005) succeeded Harold Wilson as Labour Prime Minister in 1976. At a time of economic 'stag-flation' and massive trade union disruption, it was hoped that his working class background might lead to a workable compromise. Instead, the crisis worsened, the country was forced into a humiliating IMF loan, and Callaghan was voted out in 1979 [Getty Images] Harold Wilson (1916 - 1995) was a popular Labour Prime Minister noted for his reforms to higher education and decriminalization of homosexuality and abortion in 1967.

He struggled to achieve mcuh in his second term in the 1970s when faced with a flatlining economy and widespread unrest, and resigned in 1976 [Getty Images] Edward Heath (1916 - 2005) struggled throughout his term of office to deal with a struggling economy, trade union unrest and his Conservative party's inability to win a majority. He led Britain into the EEC in 1973 and was ousted from office for the second time a year later. A lifelong bachelor, he owned several yachts all called 'Morning Cloud' [Getty Images] Alec Douglas-Home (1903 - 1995) replaced Harold MacMillan as PM and leader of the Tories in 1963. His premiership was the second shortest of the 20th century [Getty Images] Harold Macmillan (1894 - 1986), was an old-fashioned upper-class Conservative who took over from the disgraced Eden in 1957. He oversaw a period of unprecedented prosperity and hugely expanded social housing infrastructure.

His 1961 'Winds of Change' speech marked the symbolic end of British colonialism in Africa [Getty Images] Anthony Eden (1897 - 1977), was well-known for his good looks and easy-going manner. He became PM after Churchill in 1955 but was forced to resign in 1957 over the Suez Crisis in Egypt, an incident which gave him serious mental health problems [Getty Images] Clement Attlee (1883 - 1967), was one of the most influential British statesmen of the 20th century. Leading Labour to a surprise landslide in 1945, his government would found the National Health Service and comprehensive education system, significantly expand social security and housing provision, and bring several key industries into public ownership, shaping Britain for decades to come [Getty Images] Neville Chamberlain (1869 - 1940), oversaw a return to economic stability after the chaos of the Depression and did everything in his power to prevent a second destructive European war.

Despite his 1938 declaration of 'peace in our time', he was of course unsuccesful in this, and was replaced by the more aggressive Churchill as wartime leader [Getty Images] Stanley Baldwin (1867 - 1947) was a pre-eminent inter-war statesman who depsite his wealthy upper-class background attempted to shift the basis of Conservative support to people on lower and average incomes. He formed three seperate governments, and helped oversee recovery from the Depression in the 1930's [Getty Images] Ramsay MacDonald (1866 - 1937), was the first Labour Prime Minister, forming two minority governments. Born into poverty in the Highlands, he managed to reform the housing and education systems but was ill-coped to deal with the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash and was forced to cede power to a national coalition, and then to the Tories [Getty Images] Andrew Bonar Law (1858-1923) was a Scottish Unionist who served briefly as Conservative Prime Minister in 1922-3 before ill health forced him to retire.

Born in Canada (then part of the Empire), he was the only PM ever to be born outside of the British Isles [Getty Images] David Lloyd George (1863 - 1945) was a fiery orator and radical Liberal statesman who oversaw Allied victory in the First World War. He formed a coalition government after the Armistice to pursue economic recovery and expand social security, but was ousted in 1922. He was the last Liberal Prime Minsiter and saw his party lose masses of its support to Labour [Getty Images] Herbert Asquith (1852 - 1928) won a Liberal landslide in 1908 and enacted several social and political reforms, introducing the first social security legislation and reducing the power of the House of Lords. He was Prime Minister at the start of the First World War [Getty Images] Henry Campbell-Bannerman (1836 - 1908) was strangely enough, the first Prime Minister to be officially referred to as Prime Minsiter (up until then it had been a widely used but unofficial title).

In office he signed a treaty with Russia that would underpin the Triple Entente alliance in the First World War, and transferred autonomy to South Africa [Getty Images] Arthur Balfour (1848 - 1930) was heir to one of the largest fortunes in Britain. He led Britain during the Second Boer War and faced severe unrest in Ireland throughout his time in office [Getty Images] Robert Gascoyne-Cecil (1830 - 1903), Marquis of Salisbury was the last unelected Prime Minister of the UK, drawn from the House of Lords rather than the Commons. He served in three non-consecutive terms between 1885-1902, making him one of the dominant personalities of late Victorian politics [Getty Images] Archibald Primrose (1847-1929), Earl of Rosebery spent much of his fourteen months in power fighting his own Liberal party, who were wary of his plans to hugely increase the size of the Royal Navy [Getty Images] William Ewart Gladstone (1809 - 1898), was a titan of Victorian politics, known for his thunderous speeches.

He served four terms as PM, making him electorally the most succesful British politician of all time. Among his many achievements in office were reforms to the army and civil service, giving women the right to own property, liberalizing international trade and giving greater autonomy to Ireland [Getty Images] Benjamin Disraeli (1804 - 1881) Witty and charming, he was also a succesful novelist and a favourite of Queen Victoria, who enjoyed his company far more than that of his rather more pompous rival Gladstone [Getty Images] Edward Stanley (1799 - 1869), Earl of Derby served in three seperate terms as PM and is considered by many as a founding figure of the modern Conservative party.

His most notable acts were transferring control of the Indian colonies to the Crown and Parliament in 1858, and enabling Jewish Britons to stand as MPs for the first time [Getty Images] John Russell (1792 - 1878), led a minority Conservative government which reformed the Poor Laws and Grammar Schools, but was undone by a vote of no confidence after widespread Chartist Unrest and a controversial Militia Bill [Getty Images ] Henry Palmerston, (1784 - 1865) was known as 'Gunboat Palmerston' for his aggressive approach to foreign affairs. He led Britain in both the Crimean War with Russia and the Second Opium War against Imperial China. [Getty Images] George Hamilton Gordon, Earl of Aberdeen (1784 - 1860) was an early advocate of free trade and led Britain into the Crimean War. He was forced to resign however, over the government's poor treatment of British soldiers in the war [Getty Images] Robert Peel ( 1788 - 1850) reformed the Tory party, renaming them the Conservatives. His government repealed the corn laws, a landmark moment in the development of Britain's industrial economy.

He is also widely credited with creating the first offical police force, who were known for years as 'Peelers' after him [Getty Images] William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne (1779 - 1848) served as mentor and as a surrogate father-figure to the young Queen Victoria, who adored him for his good looks and charm. She was distraught when he was dismissed by William IV in 1834 [Getty Images] Charles Grey (1764 - 1845), 2nd Earl Grey became a popular hero in 1832 with the passage of the Great Reform Act, which reformed the voting system and abolished much of the corruption that had characterized British politics for decades. The popular 'Earl Grey' tea blend was named in his honour in the 1830's [Getty Images] Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington (1769 -1852), was a heroic general of the Napoloeonic Wars who went on to serve as Tory Prime Minister from 1828-30.

He was less succesful as a statesman than he had been as a military commander, and became very unpopular for his efforts to block reform. His nickname 'The Iron Duke' was not a reflection of his phlegmatic tactics but rather came after he fixed iron bars to the windows of his house to protect himself from protestors [Getty Images] Frederick John Robinson, Viscount Goderich (1782 - 1859) replaced Canning as Premier and did not bear the burden of office well. He is said to have cried with happiness when he was dismissed by King George IV, who disliked him immensely [Getty Images] George Canning (1770 - 1827) was a seasoned statesman who had served in most senior government posts, but lasted only four months in office before dying of pneumonia. His was the shortest tenure of any British PM to date [Getty Images] Robert Banks Jenkinson, Earl of Liverpool (1770 - 1825) oversaw victory in the Napoleonic Wars and negotiations at the Congress of Vienna.

He returned Britain to the Gold Standard to increase trade value but Chartist unrest made him unpopular, and he was nearly assassinated in 1820 [Getty Images] Spencer Perceval (1762-1812) remains the only British Prime Minsiter to ever be assassinted.

He was shot in the House of Commons by a merchant called John Bellingham, who believed that the government owed him compensation for imprisonment in Russia [Getty Images] William Cavendish, Duke of Portland (1768 - 1854) had the distinction of holding every title of British nobility (Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount, and Baron) and served as Prime Minister for a term in the 18th century and then another in the 19th [Getty Images] William Grenville (1759 - 1834), formed the famous 'Government of all-talents'- a coalition of noted Whigs and Tories, and is perhaps best known for abolishing the slave trade in 1807 [Getty Images] William Pitt 'the Younger' (1759 - 1806) was Britain's youngest ever Prime Minister, coming to office at the age of just 24. Youth did not prevent him from leading Britain in the Napoleonic Wars though, and he was so committed to his work that he died of exhaustion in 1806.

His last words were 'My country, O how I leave my country!' [Getty Images] Henry Addington (1757 - 1844) attempted to negotiate peace with Napoleon to stave off the threat of invasion in 1802 [Getty Images] William Petty (1737–1805) Earl of Shelburne was the First Irish-born Prime Minister. His year-long Whig ministry succesfully negotiated treaties with France, Spain, and the newly created United States [Getty] Charles Wentworth (1730 - 1782), The Marquis of Rockingham served twice as Premier in the 1760's and the 1780's respectively. He repealed the controversial Stamp Act, one of the causes of the American Revolution, and was the first PM to formally acknowledge the independent United States of America [Getty Images] Lord Frederick North, (1732-1792) was notoriously fat and often dozed through parliamentary sessions. His refusal to meet the demands of Britain's North American colonies led to the American Revolution.

[Getty Images] Augustus Fitzroy (1735 - 1811) Duke of Grafton, was a Whig Prime Minsiter in 18 of the most crucial months leading up to the American Revolution [Getty Images] William Pitt, (1708 - 1778) or 'Pitt the Elder', was an esteemed mid-18th century statesman best known for his successful conduct of the Seven Years' War, which saw Britain gain new colonies in America, India and the Carribbean [Getty Images] George Grenville (1712-1770) attempted to reduce taxes at home by increasing them in the colonies, notably through the infamous Stamp Act of 1765. This policy helped fund expanded imperial activity but also led ultimately to the American Revolution [National Trust] William Cavendish, the 3rd Duke of Devonshire (1698 - 1755) was the first of several members of his aristocratic family to serve as Prime Minister.

His most famous action was ordering the execution of the disgraced Admiral Byng, which caused public outcry and his dismissal by George II [Getty Images] Thomas Pelham-Holles (1693 - 1768), Duke of Newcastle served as Prime Minister from 1754 to 1756 and again from 1757 to 1762, in a coalition ministry with William Pitt the Elder which oversaw much of the conduct of the Seven Years' War with France and Austria [Getty Images] John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute (1713 - 1792) was Britain's first Scottish Prime Minister and proved highly unpopular with the English public. He was rumoured to have had an affair with the Queen-Consort and lasted less than a year in office before retiring to take up botany [Getty Images] Henry Pelham (1695 - 1754) succeeded Walpole and Compton and proved durable, lasting eleven years in office.

He saw British entry into the War of the Austrian Succession, defeated the Jacobite Rebellion in 1745-6, and reformed the Navy and the Institution of Marriage before dying in office [Getty Images] Spencer Compton (c. 1673 - 1743), served for little over a year after many years in the Walpole government. His primary legislative efforts were aimed at increasing taxes on gin and whiskey to reduce disorder among the working poor [Getty Images] Sir Robert Walpole (1676-1745) essentially established the office of Prime Minister, serving as head of government for a (probably) never-to-be beaten record of 21 years from 1721-42.

Known as 'The Fat Squire from Norfolk' he was notoriosuly corrupt, governing largely through patronage and fraud [Getty Images] Also in this Gallery Prime Ministers in the Royal Society | The Repository | Royal Society Prime Ministers in the Royal Society 17 April 2013 by Joanna Corden On the day that Margaret Thatcher, the last British Prime Minister to be a Fellow of the Royal Society, is laid to rest, I thought it would be interesting to look back at previous British Prime Ministers who were also Fellows. It is worth mentioning that the term ‘Prime Minister’ evolved from the post of First Lord of the Treasury, and modern historians generally apply the title of first Prime Minister to Robert Walpole (not a Fellow) who led the government from 1721-42. To my surprise, 31 Prime Ministers have been Fellows of the Royal Society. Alphabetically the list goes from Herbert Asquith to Harold Wilson, and chronologically from Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, who first took office in 1754, to Mrs Thatcher herself.

Fellows are elected because of their scientific contribution, though in addition there has always been provision for Privy Councillors and members of the nobility to be elected for other reasons. This came under the heading of the privileged class, but was revised in 1902 to become Statute XII where Council may, “once every two years, recommend for election not more than two persons who either have rendered conspicuous service to the cause of science, or are such that their election would be of signal benefit to the Society”. Margaret Thatcher was elected under this Statute in 1983, the same year as David Attenborough.

These days it is unlikely that the names of the early Prime Ministerial Fellows would be familiar in either scientific or political context: the aforementioned Thomas Pelham-Holles, elected FRS in 1749 and Prime Minister 1754-56 and 1757-62; or Frederick Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich, elected FRS in 1828 and Prime Minister 1827-28; or even Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, elected 1886 and Prime Minister 1894-95, even though he was also the Chairman of the first County Council of London.

Others would be more familiar: William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, elected FRS towards the end of his second term of office as Prime Minister in 1841; Benjamin Disraeli, elected FRS in 1876 in the middle of his term of office 1874-80; William Pitt the Elder, 1st Earl of Chatham, elected 1744 before his Prime Ministerial term 1766-68; and Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, elected FRS in 1853 before becoming Prime Minister 1855-58 and 1859-65. Also among the Fellowship were the Duke of Wellington, elected FRS in 1847 after his terms of office in 1828-30 and 1834, and William Ewart Gladstone, elected FRS in 1881 and Prime Minister four times (1868-74, 1880-85, 1886, and 1892-94).

And of course there are the well-known names of the twentieth century: James Ramsay MacDonald, Herbert Asquith, Arthur Balfour, Stanley Baldwin, Clement Attlee, Harold Macmillan and Harold Wilson. William Gladstone FRS, by Elliott and Fry, London Of them all, only Margaret Thatcher had a degree in a scientific subject, and the best-known Prime Ministerial Fellow, Sir Winston Churchill, had no degree at all. He was elected to the Fellowship in May 1941, just over a year after he first became Prime Minister, and was described by his friend Frederick Lindemann , head of the Clarendon Laboratory at Oxford, as “a scientist who had missed his vocation”. In 1924 Churchill wrote to Lindemann about a report of a deadly ray being invented, in 1927 both were corresponding with Hugh Trenchard , Marshal of the RAF, about the design of bomb sights, and in the 1930s both were extremely worried about air defence against Germany, and later the nuclear bomb. Churchill was appreciative of science and its importance throughout both World Wars and after. Baroness Thatcher is the last of the Prime Ministers who were also elected as Fellows.

It is now the practice of the Royal Society not to elect serving ministers of the Crown to Honorary Fellowship. Tags: Frederick Lindemann Margaret Thatcher Prime Ministers Winston Churchill Scott More about Margaret Thatcher’s scientific career is in Jon Agar’s excellent (free) paper in Notes and Records, Thatcher, Scientist: Alice This old NS article is fun on how the fellows took it at the time… #v=onepage&q=Margaret%20Thatcher%20ice&f=false Mr Gregory Fascinating! I am also surprised by 31 Prime Ministers also being fellows. This really is a hidden gem of a blog. Welcome to The Repository, the Royal Society's history of science blog. William Lamb, the 2nd Viscount Melbourne, 1779-1848 William Lamb, the 2nd Viscount Melbourne, 1779-1848 [ Victorian Web Home —> Political History —> Prime Ministers ] illiam Lamb, the 2nd Viscount Melbourne and Queen Victoria 's first Prime Minister , was born in 1779. His family was part of the aristocratic Whig society that reached a peak in the late 1700s.

Its members reveled in non-stop politics, partying, gambling, and infidelity. His father, who embraced only the more disreputable Whig interests, was an inconsequential and almost nonexistent factor in William's life. His mother was wholly different. Described as beautiful, clever, virile, and cool she aggressively and successfully pursued her two goals — to rise to the height of English society and to raise happy, productive children. She befriended the Duchess of Devonshire, the Prince of Wales (the future George IV), and Lord Egremont, widely believed to be William's biological father. Lady Melbourne recognized William's natural intelligence and potential and encouraged his education at Eton, Cambridge, and Glasgow where he studied under the Whig professor John Millar. Lamb was an avid reader who developed his own interests in literature, drama, and religion. As a younger son, William was not a direct heir of his father nor financially independent, and after completing school set out for a law career. However the death of his older brother in 1805 made him heir to the family name and fortune and caused momentous changes in his personal and professional life.

His rise in social status enabled him to marry that year a young woman, Caroline Ponsonby whom he had long regarded but had been socially out of his reach. One of the most notorious marriages of the age, it was to be disastrous for them both. Creative, cultured, dramatic and flighty, Caroline clashed with her more coarse, rational mother-in-law and placid, passive husband. Over time her behavior become more erratic and erotic-her many publicized affairs included one with the famous poet and social figure Lord Byron (who simultaneously became an intimate friend of William's mother). The publication of her best selling autobiographical novel Glenarvon, in which she described her amorous adventures and her husband's acquiescence further added to his humiliation. She ultimately suffered a permanent psychological breakdown. They were legally separated in 1825 and Caroline died in 1828. Their son had severe developmental delays and died in 1836. While serving as Chief Secretary for Ireland (and legally separated) Lamb had a romantic though possibly unconsummated relationship with Lady Branden of Dublin. Her husband unsuccessfully sued him for "criminal conversation" with his wife though the suit marked the end of their relationship.

Later, as Prime Minister he again developed a romantic but likely chaste relationship with the socialite, writer, and granddaughter of the playwright Sheridan, Mrs. Caroline Norton. Again, he won a civil suit brought on by her husband in a much publicized trial that was later satirized by Charles Dickens in The Pickwick Papers . Though Lamb (now Lord Melbourne) survived the trial unscathed, Mrs. Norton became a social outcast, and based on the law at the time, lost custody of her children to her disreputable husband. She later successfully campaigned for passage of the Infant Custody Bill, which gave women more custody rights. Though Melbourne withdrew from the intimacy of their relationship, Caroline remained a loyal friend and was a source of comfort to him in his later melancholy years. Unfortunately, Melbourne's adulthood was characterized by a failure to develop a satisfying, mature love relationship or family life. His older brother's death also propelled Lamb into a political career in which he fared much better. As a young man he was a disciple of the eighteenth-century Whig icon Charles James Fox and subscribed to his political beliefs in the primacy of Parliament, religious toleration, limited monarchy, the right to private property, and civil liberty.

However Lamb also had a conservative streak and never adapted to the radical wing of the Whig party which was evolving in the early nineteenth century and which stood for Church, educational, social, and parliamentary reform . Lamb, who believed in an aristocratic oligarchy rather than democracy, was skeptical about man's ability to improve his condition through government action. Though he could sometimes bend, his beliefs were fixed for life. Lamb affected a disarming insouciant attitude, which, unlike in his personal life, belied a developing determination and ambition. After showing initial promise following his election to the House of Commons for Northhampton in 1816 and Hertford in 1819, Lamb withdrew from active politics for about the next ten years and actually resigned his seat in 1826. He did so in part due to his marital problems and part to estrangement from the radicals of his party, which left him in limbo between the conservative wing of the Whigs and the liberal wing of the Tories .

In fact during this period he associated more with the Tory politicians Canning and Huskisson and when Canning became Prime Minister in 1827 Lamb came in out of the cold and accepted office as Chief Secretary for Ireland . In that role he served as the link between the Irish Lord Lieutenant and the British government and helped run the Irish government. During his brief term of one year he showed an unorthodox desire to befriend the Catholic populace, work with the Catholic leader Daniel O'Connell , and support Catholic emancipation but ultimately Lamb effected no lasting change in Ireland. Following the death of Canning, Lamb (now Lord Melbourne) resigned office rather than serve under the more ultra-Tory Duke of Wellington . In 1830 Wellington's government fell and Melbourne accepted a cabinet post as Home Secretary with the primary responsibility of maintaining law and order under the new Whig Prime Minister Lord Grey . This was a difficult task in an era of great social unrest and agitation symbolized by the mythic protester Captain Swing in a country that lacked, with the exception of London, a modern police force .

Though he avoided pressure to institute the harshest repressive measures he strongly stamped out illegal protest and through modern eyes seemed to lack sympathy for the underlying problems of the lower classes. He was responsible for the conviction and transportation of a group of poor laborers, known as the Tolpuddle Martyrs, under an obscure law prohibiting the taking of unauthorized oaths by members of societies. Their trial evoked a storm of protest that Melbourne ignored, and the convicted workers were pardoned a year later. Melbourne was a reluctant supporter of the 1832 parliamentary Reform Bill that increased the franchise and removed some "rotten boroughs"-parliamentary districts with small malleable electorates under the control of a special interest. Early in 1834 Lord Grey resigned and Lord Melbourne became his unlikely successor as Prime Minister. He led a caretaker government still under the influence of Grey and not well supported by King William IV and was forced to resign at the end of 1834 without any accomplishments. The new Tory Prime Minister Peel only lasted a few months in office brought down in part by the Lichfield House Compact - a coalition of Whigs, Radicals, and Irish of which Melbourne was not an active participant.

Following Peel's resignation, Melbourne was again named Prime Minister. He held together a rickety coalition cabinet of egotistical Radicals and Whigs with differing agendas backed by the shaky support of the Irish (Catholic) MPs and the tacit approval of the more liberal Tories. The government, which did not have the full support of William IV, was opposed by the more ultra-Tory members of the House of Lords. Philosophically Melbourne was against ongoing radical reform and believed the country needed time to adapt to the Reform Bill but was willing to bend when popular opinion demanded it. Stylistically he allowed cabinet members a great deal of independence and served as a mediator and conciliator at cabinet meetings. Though he had a carefree manner it took an underlying drive and ambition to keep his government afloat and its factious elements together. Legislatively, after years of wrangling Melbourne's government passed an Irish Tithe Bill, which reformed the taxation Catholics were forced to pay to the Irish (Anglican) Church, though attempts to appropriate Church money to secular uses were defeated. In 1835 they passed the Municipal Corporation Act that greatly improved the management and representation of city governments (a similar bill was later passed for Ireland).

In 1836 they passed the Dissenter 's Marriage Bill that allowed marriage outside the Church of England . Ultimately unsuccessful reforms in the welfare system were attempted with the passage of the English and Irish Poor Law Bills. Backing the radicals, Melbourne helped put through penny postage, which opened up the mail system to the masses and was a democratizing force in England but not surprisingly, he supported suppression of the Chartist movement that advocated universal suffrage and other democratic ideas. Melbourne had limited interest in foreign affairs which he left to his Foreign Secretary (and brother-in-law) Lord Palmerston . Inadvertently though he helped pave the way for colonial reform by appointing the Earl of Durham as Governor of Canada. The Durham report, which advocated responsible government for Canada, provided a model for future Imperial government. Melbourne also played a role in preventing war with France over its support of an Egyptian uprising against Turkey. In 1837 the happiest and perhaps most important chapter in Melbourne's life began-the death of William IV led to the accession of his niece, the eighteen-year-old Queen Victoria .

Growing up in a constrained and isolated environment controlled by her mother and her mother's detestable aide Sir John Conroy, Victoria immediately took to the witty, gracious, and charming fifty-eight-year-old Melbourne. Their relationship, much analyzed, blossomed and was for Melbourne avuncular with a touch of romance and political self-interest. During the start of her reign they spent as much as six hours a day together with Melbourne acting as part Prime Minister, part private secretary. Appealing to his pedantic nature, Melbourne regaled the Queen his with views on history, religion, politics, politicians, and life. Victoria took his lessons to heart and dutifully copied them in her journal. Melbourne instilled or reinforced in the Queen a sense of self-confidence, respect for the monarchy, and the importance of doing her duty, qualities somewhat lacking in the kings since George III. Based on his cynical and flippant observations on education and the poor, however, he has been accused of failing to develop her social consciousness. Overall, Melbourne was scrupulous with Queen Victoria, but he could be overly solicitous, which occasionally ill-served her.

For instance, when Victoria inaccurately accused her mother's unmarried maid of honor Flora Hastings of being pregnant (based on an abdominal swelling due to cancer), Melbourne was insensitive to Hastings and her family's humiliation, and when the episode became public, opinion swung strongly against him and the Queen. In the 1839 " Bedchamber Crisis " Melbourne's government, split by dissension, fell and Peel became Prime Minister. When Queen Victoria refused Peel's reasonable request to replace some of the Whig ladies of her bedchamber with Tories, Peel resigned, and the Queen named Melbourne as Prime Minister again. Melbourne was not forceful enough in suggesting the Queen comply with Peel and overly associated her with the Whig Party. Melbourne's somewhat contrived return to power found his government still rocked by increasing internal dissension especially over issues, such as the secret ballot, reform of the Corn Laws (agricultural tariffs), and Irish, colonial, and foreign policy. Unfortunately for Melbourne, his time with Victoria was to be short. The maturation of the Queen, her marriage to the earnest Prince Albert, Melbourne's physical aging, and the further weakening and final fall of his government in 1841 led to the end of their special relationship.

After he left office, Victoria's new sober-minded advisers discouraged Melbourne from having even an innocuous correspondence with the Queen, and due to their influence and her growing self-confidence, Victoria seemed to minimize the unique part he played in her life. Lord Melbourne played no significant political role after 1841. Though his last years were characterized by deteriorating health, a wistful longing for the Queen, and periods of melancholy, he also had the comfort of being surrounded by devoted friends and family. He died, unheralded, in 1848, perhaps considered the relic of a vanished age. Though not a great political leader or innovator, Melbourne, provided a source of stability and moderation in government during a period of great turmoil and change. He was a factor in England's relatively peaceful transition to democracy, and he provided a beneficial and altruistic role in educating and molding Queen Victoria. The study of his life offers a fascinating window into the social and political life of the English elite at the start of the Victorian Age. Reccommended Reading Auchincloss, Louis. Persons of Consequence: Queen Victoria and her circle. New York: Random House, 1979. Cecil, David. Melbourne.

New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1954. Longford, Elizabeth. Victoria R. I.. New York: Harper & Row, 1973. Mitchell, L.G. Lord Melbourne 1779-1848. New York: Oxford, 1997. Plaidy, Jean. The Queen and Lord M. New York: Putnam, 1977. Ziegler, Philip, Melbourne. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1976.

Question: By what title was the British Prime Minister William Lamb better known?
Answer: VISCOUNT MELBOURNE